Homecoming
by CharmedMummy
Summary: Oneshot follow up to Charge of this Post, the Season 2 finale, about Don's first night out of the hospital. It is part of my Let's Play a Game series, though you don't have to read any of the others to enjoy this one.


Disclaimer: I own nothing, just borrowing. :)

AN: This may not be exactly what achingankle had in mind, but after watching the first season DVDs I suddenly had to write this story. Oh, and the Greek was done with a simple free online translator, so if anything is incorrect I apologize. I hope you all enjoy it. :)

* * *

"Hey Mac, I got the tox results back. Our vic had a whole medical dictionary's worth of stuff in her. It's goin' to be fun figuring out which, if any, of them contributed to her death."

Mac looked at the file Danny had handed him. "All right, I'll be out in a minute to help you process the pill bottles we found at the vic's apartment." He closed the file and turned back to his computer to finish what he had been doing, but noticed that Danny hadn't left. "Something else, Danny?"

"I just want to make sure you're still on for tonight."

Mac smiled at the younger man. "I wouldn't miss it."

"Good," Danny replied and left Mac's office. Since Mac wouldn't be coming out for a minute Danny decided to stop by the break room for a little coffee. Upon entering he found Hawkes and Stella. "Hey Doc, Stel." The other two greeted him as he approached the coffee pot. After pouring his drink he turned to his two friends. "You two are still going to be there tonight, right?"

"Of course," Stella told him. "We're all going to be there and everything is handled, don't worry about it, Danny."

"I've even got a present all ready and wrapped for him that could be used for entertainment," Hawkes informed him.

Danny raised his eyebrow at that. "What did you get him, Sheldon?"

"All I will say is it was my favorite game as a kid," Hawkes said as he walked out of the room and got back to work.

Stella patted Danny's arm before she turned to leave as well. "Like I said, don't worry. I'm all set to pick him up and everyone will be there."

* * *

"Thanks for picking me up and bringing me home, Stel."

"It's no problem, Don. What else are friends for?"

"I'm just glad this wasn't made into a big production," Flack told her as the elevator in his apartment building arrived at his floor and he and Stella exited. "I was kind of afraid all of you would try and pick me up from the hospital and make a big fuss."

"Us? Put up a fuss? You must have us confused with someone else," Stella joked, smiling at her younger friend.

Don stopped outside the door to his apartment. "Seriously, Stella, thanks for everything. You guys have been really great helping me out by taking care of my apartment, visiting me, everything. I probably don't say it enough, but thanks."

Stella smiled and gave him a hug to try and cover up the fact that her eyes had just misted a bit. "We were happy to do it, Don." She stepped back from him. "Αλλά θα είστε ακόμα αυτά ευγνώμονες μετά από σας περίπατος μέσω εκείνης της πόρτας?"

Don gave her a confused look. "What was all of that?" But Stella refused to answer and just motioned for him to open the door and after giving her another look, he complied. As soon as he stepped inside and turned on the lights he was greeted by a loud, "Surprise!" and the smiling faces of Mac, Danny, Lindsay, and Hawkes.

* * *

A few hours later the group was still trading stories over the now empty pizza boxes on the coffee table, both remembering the past and catching Don up on the present. Flack was sitting in his favorite easy chair, Mac, Stella, and Hawkes were on his couch and Danny and Lindsay were sitting fairly close to each other on the floor with their backs to the wall. On the end table next to Flack was Hawkes' present. He still couldn't quite believe what the former M.E. had given him.

_Flack untied the ribbon and began tearing the wrapping paper while still insisting that Hawkes shouldn't have gotten him anything. "Seriously, the party and the pizza was enough."_

"_I was shopping for my niece's birthday and I just couldn't help myself," Hawkes admitted as he eagerly anticipated Don's reaction._

_When the wrapping paper came off, everyone laughed uncontrollably. "Operation? You got me the game Operation?" Flack asked his friend as he laughed. Some might have thought the gift insensitive considering what had happened to Flack, but Hawkes knew him well enough to know that the game would fit his friend's dark humor perfectly. Don was touched that his friends knew him this well. From sending only Stella to the hospital because they all knew he wouldn't want a scene there, to throwing this little party because despite his protestations they knew he would love company his first night home, to giving him the perfect gift to make him laugh, his friends knew him well and the dark haired detective felt very blessed to be a part of this tight group._

"_Is it a special edition one with bits of cellphone in the chest area?" Danny joked, and then quickly followed with an "OW!" as Lindsay smacked him in the chest with the back of her hand._

"_Behave, Messer," the girl from Montana told the man next to her._

"_Give up, Lindsay," Flack advised her, "Danny is a hopeless case."_

Flack was brought back to the present as Hawkes directed a comment in his direction. "Hey, Don, did you hear about the extra shower that Lindsay got today?"

Don raised his eyebrows as the woman in question groaned and put her head on her upraised knees. "No, I haven't heard. Please enlighten me."

"It's all his fault," came the muffled retort as Lindsay pointed to Danny.

"Hey, I tried to stop you!" he protested. He looked up at his longtime friend. "You remember that case about a year and a half ago where we were called to an apartment because of a big pool of blood?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Well, Montana and I were working this case in an apartment building today and she followed a blood trail out to the garbage chute in the hall. She yells to me where I am in the apartment that she thinks some evidence was thrown down there and I have this flash back to our case when I followed a blood trail to a chute and stuck my head in it to see if a body was in there…"

"…and almost got your head taken off by a bag of garbage. Don't tell me Lindsay…"

"She ignores my warning…"

"You didn't say anything before I opened the chute!" Lindsay protested as she raised her head.

"I told you to take your head out of there, didn't I?" He looked at Flack. "This stubborn woman doesn't listen to me and keeps talking with her head in the chute until someone on a floor above her decides this is a good time to toss the milkshake they didn't feel like finishing."

Don laughed. "You got sprayed by a milkshake?"

Lindsay smiled. It was a funny story, even if it did happen to her and was embarrassing. "Yeah, and it was strawberry so I had pink stuff in my hair until I was able to take a shower back at the lab."

"You're lucky it wasn't a bag full of bottles or something heavy that could have given you a pretty good blow to the back of your head, Montana."

"Leave her alone, Messer. You almost got knocked out yourself when you did the same thing on our case."

"Ah, but I didn't," Danny reminded him. "I have superior reflexes and was able to avoid anything like that." He caught Lindsay's arm before she could smack him again. "Easy there, Montana. Who knew you were so violent?"

"I guess you bring it out in me," Lindsay teased before she was overcome by a big yawn. "Oh, sorry, I guess I need to head home. I pulled a triple and can barely see straight right now."

"Good thing I'm driving then," Danny said as he stood up. He and Lindsay had carpooled over earlier. "Come on Montana," he cajoled her, picking her hands up with his and pulling her to a standing position while she moaned about how tired she was. "I'm not gonna carry you, so you're going to have to walk."

"And now I see why they say chivalry is dead," she retorted, but Danny only grinned at her. That smile got her every time and she started formulating a plan in her mind that involved falling asleep, or at least feigning it, in his car and getting him to carry her upstairs to her apartment. It wasn't like it hadn't happened before and she doubted Danny would object.

"Well, thanks again for the party, guys," Don told them. He got up to get a hug from Lindsay and a manly one-armed hug from Danny before seeing them out the door. When he came back into the living room, Mac was the only one there. "Where did Stella and Hawkes go?"

"They're cleaning up your kitchen," the older man told him. Mac gestured towards the chair Flack had been using. "Sit down, Don, and tell me how you're really doing."

Flack sat and studied his hands. "I'm fine."

"Don," Mac said and the younger detective looked up at him. "I'm not asking as a senior officer evaluating your ability to return to your job. I'm asking as your friend."

Flack sighed. "All due respect, Mac, but you rarely separate those two, not on something like this anyway."

Mac paused for a second. "Fair enough." It was true that if Don had admitted being in a condition that should keep him from returning to duty, Mac would have probably tried to talk him into taking some more leave, but it was out of concern for Don and not the job, though that was a close second. "I gather you're ready to return to work on Monday?"

Flack smiled. "You bet I am." His smile became a little forced as he continued, "I admit the next time I get called to a DB in an office building I might get a little jumpy, but I'm on desk duty for awhile and by the time I'm in the field again it won't be a problem."

Mac leaned forward and put his arms on his knees. "Getting scared is a normal response to this kind of thing, Don. Hell, I've had a lot of experiences that have made me nervous in certain circumstances. What's important is how you handle your emotional response to those situations, and I know you well enough that I won't be worrying about you going back into the field again one bit because I know you can manage it. Not only that, but I look forward to working with you again."

Don blinked a couple of times. It wouldn't do to have it obvious how much that had touched him. "Thanks Mac," he said, really meaning it. Even more than his own father, Don Sr., Mac was a legend in the NYPD and to have such a vote of confidence from the man did wonders for Don's state of mind. In truth he had been more than a little worried about how he would handle being back on the job, but with Mac's words Flack began to believe that he could do it just as well if not better than before merely because Mac believed that to be true.

"All right, well we should probably leave and let you rest," Stella said as she entered the room again. Being a CSI and all she noticed the serious atmosphere, but decided not to comment after also noticing the slight moisture in Don's eyes. _τρόπος να πάει, Mac_, she thought to herself. She made an educated guess as to their conversation and figured Mac had said some things that Don really needed to hear and she was proud of her boss and friend. He really could be amazing sometimes.

As Don closed the door after showing the last three out, he reflected again on how lucky he was to have such amazing friends. He couldn't have asked for a better homecoming.


End file.
